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Title:Dynamical Models of the Galactic Center

Abstract: The distribution of late-type (old) stars in the inner parsec of the Milky
Way is very different than expected for a relaxed population around a
supermassive black hole. Instead of a density cusp, there is a 0.5 pc core.
This article discusses what sorts of dynamical models might explain this
"conundrum of old age." A straightforward interpretation is that the nucleus is
unrelaxed, and that the distribution of the old giants reflects the
distribution of fainter stars and stellar remnants generally in the core. On
the other hand, a density cusp could be present in the unobserved populations,
and the deficit of bright giants could be a result of interactions with these
objects. At the present time, no model is clearly preferred.

Comments:

To appear in "The Galactic Center: A Window on the Nuclear Environment of Disk Galaxies", ed. Mark Morris, Daniel Q. Wang and Feng Yuan